Falcons look for turnaround against Wolf Pack

SPRINGFIELD – Over the first three months of this American Hockey League season, the Springfield Falcons went 6-0 against their longtime rivals, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

The sixth victory in that stretch came Dec. 21, in a shootout. Since then, this season series has taken a U-turn. The Pack have beaten the Falcons four in a row, and Springfield was never in three of them.

Hartford, a going-nowhere team in the Eastern Conference, has outscored the Northeast Division Falcons 20-9 in those four victories. The last may have been Springfield's worst performance – a 6-2 drubbing March 7 in Hartford.

"That's hockey, especially in the AHL," said Cody Bass, a veteran forward who serves as one of the Falcons' alternate captains. "When you play a team that many times, you never know how it's going to go. Now we're looking to get back to winning against them."

The Falcons still have two meetings left with the Pack, a team they play more often than any other. This unusual bit of scheduling is the AHL way of recognizing the fan interest in territorial rivalries.

The Falcons-Wolf Pack series resumes Friday night at Hartford.

"It's an important game for us, just like Wednesday's game was important," Bass said. "Teams that seemingly are out of it are sleepers.They can be very tough to beat at this time of year."

The Falcons handled such a challenge Wednesday night, when they beat the lowly but dangerous Adirondack Phantoms 3-0 behind goaltender Jeremy Smith"s first shutout of the season.

The Birds got goals from Andrew Joudrey, Ryan Craig and Jake Hansen as they opened a seven-point lead on Albany in the Northeast with 10 games left.

Joudrey's goal came on the power play, which has become an important weapon for the Falcons in recent games.

"Yeah, special teams play a huge role, especially at this time of year, and in the playoffs," Bass said. "You're not going to see as many penalties in playoff hockey, so that makes it even more important to have a good power play when the chances do come."

Bass doesn't have a role on the power play, but he and Joudrey serve as key men on the other side of it – the penalty kill.

On Joudrey's goal against Adirondack, one of the power-play assists went to Carter Camper, a smooth center who came early this month in a trade.

"Camp's one of the better passers and players in this league. He knows how to create space and make things happen. He's a great pickup for us," Bass said.

ICE CHIPS: The Falcons play at Adirondack on Saturday. Next week, they’ll play at Bridgeport Tuesday, and at St. John’s Friday and Saturday ... They have only two home games left, April 11 vs. Portland, April 12 vs. Hershey ... Coach Brad Larsen gave the team Thursday off, but many players attended an optional skate at Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield.